LeBron displays his greatness -- now, let him be

Cleveland, we have to move on.We have every right to dislike The Decision and all for which it stood.It's OK to laugh every time we think of Comic Sans.It's OK to root vehemently against the Miami Heat.But the LeBron James hate, like adults wearing jerseys with their names on the backs and fantasy football leagues giving trophies to their champions, has to go.You don't have to like James, but you should always admire greatness in any field.And if you love basketball, James is a joy to watch — even if his team (nice goose egg in Game 7, Chris Bosh) can grate on every one of your nerves.

James averaged 31.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.8 steals in the last four games of the Finals against the Spurs. In that span, he shot 47.9% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range as his team won three of four contests to rally from a 2-1 series deficit.

In the last two contests, he averaged 34.5 points, 11 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals while playing a combined 95 minutes. He shot 46.9% from the floor, 40% from 3 and 85% from the free-throw line in back-to-back victories that clinched back-to-back championships.

In Thursday's entertaining Game 7, LeBron scored nine of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, including a 19-foot jump shot with 27 seconds left that gave Miami a four-point lead and two free throws four seconds later that practically iced the victory.

With the Spurs daring him to shoot from the perimeter, James displayed how well-rounded his game is by making all but three of his 12 field goals from outside the paint.He's the best player we've seen since Michael Jordan.And he's the only player we've seen since M.J. who has a chance to get to the level to which every great young player is compared — His Airness.James one day could be considered the best ever — at age 28, he has won four league MVPs, two Finals MVPs, has scored more than 21,000 career points and has career averages of 27.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists.

He could have been the best ever — and stayed here.But the Cavs also failed to surround James with an adequate supporting cast — does this look like the roster of a 66-game winner? — and gave him every reason to look elsewhere for help.None of that makes the manner in which he left OK.But it doesn't mean we have to hold on to the hate.Admire the player.Dislike The Decision.Wonder what might have been.Let go of the rest.

Summer should put Heat on Bosh

It will be an interesting offseason for the Heat, who are faced with this fact: Bosh, who averaged only 12.1 points in the postseason and was exposed any time he played against a team with a quality frontcourt, is set to make $19.1 million in 2013-14 and has player options on his contract for $20.59 million and $22.1 million in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively.Those salaries are identical to James, and Bosh is scheduled to make about $1.1 million more than Dwyane Wade in the final two years of their contracts.As the NBA's luxury tax penalties get more severe, the Heat probably can't have three players accounting for more than $61 million in salaries in 2014-15, and almost $66 million in 2015-16.Bosh would seem to be the logical one to be dealt, assuming there is a team willing to pay him almost $61.8 million the next three seasons.Pat Riley holds the trademark to “three-peat,” and we can assume the Heat president knows his team will need more than James and (a gimpy?) Wade to extend their dominance for the next few years.My guess is Bosh is traded with three goals in mind: 1. Appease James; 2. Get younger; 3. Get bigger.

News flash: Gordon just doesn't get it

Browns receiver Josh Gordon was at it again on Twitter Thursday night, displaying his deep devotion for the Heat — one that likely has been going on for all of three years.Three Game 7 tweets from Gordon that probably annoyed the majority of his team's fans:

“Game 7 on South Beach .. Couldn't ask for a better summer..”

“Uh oh.. The haters creeping back into the couches right now.. #HeatNation”

“Y'all can find me atvthe champions parade on the #winners float.. #sorry”Again, Gordon is suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season for violating the NFL's drug policy.He had a history of marijuana use in college.Openly rooting for the Heat while trying to win the respect of the Browns' fans and front office is questionable enough, but doing so while saying you're celebrating in South Beach is ill-advised, to say the least.Browns defensive tackle Phil Taylor also tweeted his admiration for the Heat last night, but he repeated his love for Cleveland and his desire to play for the Browns “for life.”And Taylor isn't suspended and having his ability to make good decisions off the field questioned by his team and its rabid followers.Cleveland native and former Brown LeCharles Bentley attempted to give Gordon some perspective on Thursday night.These two tweets from Bentley were spot on:

“Don't care who guys cheer for, that's their right. But when you're suspended and swinging from the nimrods of champions... Where is that ok?”

“YOU'RE suspended, YOU let YOUR team down but it's a priority to party with guys WAY out of your tax bracket... #Choices”Well said.Too bad Gordon probably wasn't listening.You can follow me on Twitter for sports information and analysis, but not recaps of Gordon's nights in South Beach.

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